Melt For Him(42)

“Just shooting my close-up. It’s better than yours,” Becker said, segueing into their familiar ribbing. Anything to cover up the way he was feeling about Travis’s sister. Becker sneaked a glance at Megan, and her features were tight, her jaw set.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I’m going down to Monterey later for an executive game. I came over to fix the oil gauge on your bike. Told you I would. You already forgot?”

“Oh, right. Thank you,” she said to her brother with relief in her voice. “I definitely need you to fix that. And then I have to go help at the bookstore later today.”

“Let’s get cracking, then,” Travis said, patting the seat of her motorcycle.

That heavy knot loosened as he watched them. Megan could take care of herself. She was strong and independent, and had a family who loved her and looked out for her. She didn’t need him to be anything more than the here and now, and that was fine by him. For now, he could lose himself in the work tonight at the bar, and let the Panting Dog do its job occupying front and center in his brain. Then he’d talk to Travis and show him his cards.





Chapter Fifteen

Megan tossed a tennis ball across the small backyard and the puppy scampered across the grass in hot pursuit. Megan had stopped by Jamie’s on the way to the bookstore. She had contemplated telling her all about Becker the morning after their first night, but once Megan knew who he was, there was no need.

Now there was a definite need, a huge, gaping need, so she’d come over and confessed everything, from the first night they spent together, to Travis’s concerns, to the river.

“Good boy!” Jamie shouted, cheering the pup. “Bring it back.”

Chance tore across the lawn, arriving in front of Jamie. “Now drop,” she told him and he obeyed, depositing the ball at his mistress’s feet.

“He’s a quick learner,” Megan observed, as Jamie tossed another ball.

Jamie winked and snapped her fingers. “I like to keep my men in line.”

“Ha. No problem on that with Smith. He’s crazy about you.”

“The feeling is one hundred percent mutual,” Jamie said and smiled so wide that Megan figured a family of four could drift out to sea on that smile. Jamie and Smith were so ridiculously in love that Megan could hardly believe there was ever a time when they were unsure about each other. “But enough about me. What are we going to do about you and my boss? And can I just say I still can’t believe you hooked up with him! With my boss.”

She shot Jamie a narrow look. “I hardly think him being your boss is the issue here. It’s sort of the other thing he is.”

Jamie shrugged wistfully, then lobbed another tennis ball across the yard. “I know. Your brother’s friend, not to mention a firefighter.”

She held her hands out wide. “I know. That’s sort of the problem.”

Jamie wagged a finger and adopted a serious tone. “No men who face mortal danger on a daily basis.”

“Well, it’s kind of understandable, don’t you think?”

“Sure. But hell, it’s Hidden Oaks. There aren’t that many fires here. I guess that’s why I don’t worry too much about Smith.”

But Megan knew better. The reason Jamie wasn’t plagued with the same fears was how she was raised. Jamie grew up with a mom and a dad who were madly in love and still were to this day. Her parents ran a local vineyard together. She saw them regularly, had dinner with the pair of them. Megan didn’t expect her to understand why she feared traveling the romance route with a firefighter because Jamie hadn’t grown up seeing what that life might lead to. All that sadness. All those broken nights, punctuated by tears and heavy sighs. A canyon’s worth of missing someone who would never come back.

“You honestly never worry about something happening to Smith?” she asked, pressing the issue as she took her turn scooping up the ball for the dog, then tossing it for him. He was a puppy; his energy was boundless.

“Sure. I didn’t mean to make light of it. Of course, anything can happen at any time. But that’s true for anyone. No one is immune to the possibility of loss, no matter what the job is. And as for Smith being a firefighter, well, the fact that he does what he does is part of why I love him so much.”

Megan let the weight of those words sink in. Even though she worried immensely about her brother, she also admired him deeply. Because he was brave. He didn’t just play the hero. He was a hero. The same was true of Becker; running into a burning house to save strangers was courageous. There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Truth be told, it was part of what she was liking so much about Becker. She hadn’t expected to fall for that side of him; she’d thought she could rope it off and keep his job at a distance, but deep down, her heart was melting for all of him.